Silat takedowns look super cool. However, I can't see any of them working against a resisting opponent that doesn't really want to look cool falling on the ground. Has anyone seen any live Silat takedowns? Is there any video of it so I can not be so disappointed?

I frequently use leg trips i learned in silat to finish single and double legs, and i get the putar kepala when wrestling from the knees- BJJ and Judo white belt, take with salt, etc.

A lot of the takedown is going to depend on the attack. For instance someone who is low in nature are going to be more succeptable to a harimau takedown as they won't want to stand up. If they are more upright then a lot of sapu's (sweeps), head manipulation type throws will work better.

When the person resists sometimes you have to ask why they are resisting. If they already know the technique and how to defeat it then it's easy to resist and it will seem that your technique won't work. What i'd recommend is pick 3 techiniques and cycle through them. This way your partner won't be able to anticipate your defense to his attack.

If the person is resisting by tensing up all there muscles then ask them to move again. It's really hard to hit someone if they are full tensed and as long as your timing is on then you should be able to finish the technique.

If your timing is off and the person has already reset then your technique might not work. Lastly, sometimes using a pinch or a pressure point will make them loosen up enough to finish out the technique.

I disagree. Most of the core takedowns are leverage-based, and shouldn't require an opponent who can't think or is pain compliant to work.

All that matters for a sapu dalem or luwar is if you have established a solid grip, time the foot, and pull center of gravity to the third point.

All that maters for the putar kepala is if you break the posture with your head control and catch the elbow extended away from the torso.

Harimau leg weaves just require you getting under the hips and flush with the leg.

And so on and so on. Once you have your set up, it should be leverage based just like a hip toss or a double leg- what matters is if you can hit your setup or not. Striking may be involved in you getting your initial grips and I think one of the advantages of silat is thinking coherently about what striking combinations get you into position, but fundamentally none of the takedowns require you to have "stunned" the opponent first, with exception of some of the more wrist-locky stuff. If you can't hit the core silat takedowns on a resisting opponent, it is my opinion that you simply don't have a basic grasp of timing, posture and base that you need for all grappling, Indonesian or otherwise.